High water indicator



Jan. 25, 1944. J, w o 2,340,239

' HIGH WATER INDICATOR Filed Jan. '7, 1943 F .2. ZNVENTOR. BY JESSE A.WALDROF WW W ATTORNEYS,

Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HIGH WATER, INDICATORJesse Abraham Waldrop, Atlanta, Ga. Application January 7, 1943, SerialNo. 471,600

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a high waterlndicator.

An object of the invention is the provision of a device which is to belocated at strategic points on railways, highways or other places whereit is desired to give warning of an excessive rise of water; the warningmay be in the form of illuminated signals, sirens or other means, suchSignals continuing to function until the proper authorities arrive.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a device for warningthe proper authorities that an excessive rise of water has taken placealong a railroad or highway, such Warning continuing until the device ismanually reset.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a device forgiving signals in the dispatchers oilice of a railroad, or whereverdesired, that water in a predetermined locality hasrisen a predeterminedlevel, the device being located at points along the road bed where thereis danger of flood conditions.

This invention will be best understood from a consideration of thefollowing detailed description in view of the accompanying drawingforming a part of the specification; nevertheless, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not confined to the disclosure, beingsusceptible of such changes and modifications as define no materialdeparture from the salient features of the invention as expressed in theappended claim.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is the side view of the device, constructed according to theprinciples of my invention, with one wall of the casing removed.

Fig. 2 is an end view elevation of the device, with an end wall removed.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical view of a shaft and bearing.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, 50 designates a base portionof a housing, generally designated by the numeral H, and mounted on thebase portion are side walls l2 and i3. A top or closure I 4 is hingedlymounted at l5 on the upper edge of the side Wall l2, and is adapted tobe locked against unauthorized manipulation. This lock (not shown) isadapted to be connected between the upper edge of the side wall l3 and alongitudinal edge I6 of the top M. The side and end walls are providedwith openings H to permit water in the neighborhood to enter the housingH. Each of these openings are covered with screens I 8 in order toprevent insects or debris finding their way to the interior of thehousing.

An L-shaped bracket 20 has a base portion 2!, which is secured at 22 tothe bottom l0 of the housing. The bracket also includes an upright 23,Which is located at right angles to the portion 2|. A hearing 24 mountedon the top of the vertical portion 23 of the bracket receives a shaft 25to which is secured the upper end of a rod 26. This rod extendsdownwardly and is secured to a float 2'! of any suitable type. When thefloat is at its lowermost position it rests upon a rubber bumper 28,which is secured to the inner surface of the base portion ID of thehousing H.

The vertical portion 23 of the bracket 20 is provided with a lateralextension 30, which has a bearing 3| for a shaft 32. It will be notedthat this shaft has a flat portion 23, upon which bears a spring 34,received by a slot in the extension 30. This spring is held in place bymeans of a set screw 36, threaded into an opening in the lateralextension.

A collar is mounted on one end of the shaft 32 and a rod 4! extendsthrough an opening in the collar, and also through the shaft 32 and isrigidly secured therein so that when the rod 4| is rocked the shaft 32will likewise be rocked. A hook 42 forms a continuation of the rod 4|,and is at right angles thereto as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

A second collar 43 is pinnedat 44 to the shaft 32, at one side of theextension 30. The collar 40 is secured by the rod 4| to the shaft at theother side of the said lateral extension.

A mercury switch 45 is held in a horizontal position by a U shaped clip46, which is connected to a block 41 and this block in turn is connectedto the adjacent end of the shaft 32 so that when the shaft is rocked theswitch will likewise be rocked for moving the mercury from one end ofthe switch to the other end for closing the circuit. The switch may beof any type. No details of this switch are shown nor are they described,because this type of switch is well known in the art, and depends uponits functioning by the tilting or moving of a glass tube which containsa quantity of mercury so that when the tube is rocked or shifted themercury will move to one end of the tube, or to a different portion ofthe tube. The mercury engages both contacts for closing the circuit.

Wires and 5| pass through an insulating member 52 in an end wall of thehousing, and are connected to the respective wires 53 and 54, and thesewires are connected with a source of ourrent, such as a battery or apower line. The wire 50 has a contact 56 from the switch 45, while wire5| has a socket 51, which receives a contact or pin 58, also projectingfrom the switch 45. The wires 50 and 5|, as well as sockets 55 and 51,are covered with insulating material in order to prevent the water whichenters the house H from short circuiting the wires. The wires 50 and 5|within the housing are of the flexible type since the switch 45 and thecontacts 56 and 58 are rocked by the shaft 32.

The operation of my device is as follows:

The housing II is placed in a position so that water, when it risesabove a predetermined level in a neighborhood will enter the passage I"!in the housing and thus raise the float 21. When the float is raisedsufliciently the rod 25 will engage the upper end of the hook 42 andraise the same, thereby rocking the rod 4|.

When the rod 4| is rocked the shaft 32 will be rocked, and the flatportion 33 on the shaft, which is normally in a vertical position, willbe moved to the horizontal position shown in Fig. 4. When this happensthe spring 34 will engage the flat side and prevent the shaft 32 fromreturning 1 to its normal inoperative position by the weight of the hook42.

Since the switch 45 is connected to the shaft 32 said switch will berocked when said shaft is rocked by the raising of the rod 26, and themovement of the hook 42. At this time the mercury in the switch willmove to a point where it will engage both of the contacts 56 and 58, andthus close the circuit to the source of current. The signal, energizedby the current flowing through the Wires 53 and 54, will continue tofunction until someone has arrived at the location where the housing Hhas been placed, and until the operator manually resets the device to aninoperative position. In other words, in this type of device the shaft32 must be manually returned to its normally inoperative position.

However, there are cases where the device may function automaticallywhen the water recedes, and the float 21 is lowered. The Weight of thehook 42 and the rod 4| will cause the shaft 32 to return to itsinoperative position.

I claim:

A device of th class described, comprising a housing, a bracket mountedwithin said housing. a float-rod pivoted on the bracket and providedwith a float, a rock shaft mounted on the bracket, a rod projectinglaterally from said shaft, a hook extending upwardl from the rod, atright angles thereto, and straddling the float-rod, said hook beingengaged by the float-rod when elevated by the float for rocking theshaft, a switch connected to the shaft and rocked thereby for closing acircuit to a warning signal, said housing having openings for admittingliquid thereto, and means on the bracket and engageable with the shaftfor retaining said shaft in position after said shaft has been rocked toclose the switch.

J ESSE ABRAHAM W'ALDROP.

